Extensible slides for refrigerator shelves



Nov. 22, 1955 o. v. SAUNDERS 2,724,530

EXTENSIBLE SLIDES FOR REFRIGERATOR SHELVES Filed May 8, 1952 2Sheets-Sheet l 37 4| IN l I F2l\\ 2 ,o

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INVENTOR. Orson V. Saunders Fig.|

Nov. 22, 1955 o. v. SAUNDERS 2,724,530

EXTENSIBLE SLIDES FOR REFRIGERATOR SHELVES Filed May 8, 1952 2Sheets-Shaet 2 R 1 3 m M V L IN VEN TOR.

Orson V. Saunders I r F J CL NV I {I} iiiWi z/mz m "v 654a.

. satisfactory for several reasons.

United States Patent EXTENSIBLESLIDES FOR REFRIGERATOR snnnvnsApplication May 8, 1952, Serial No. 286,665 1 Claim. or. 312-440 Thisinvention relates to refrigerator cabinets and particularly to arollable shelf arrangement therefor.

I am aware of the fact that sliding and/or extensible shelves haveheretofore been provided in household refrigerator cabinets. Suchshelveshave not been entirely Some of such shelves are dilficult to moveand in addition will bind at certain points of movement thereof due tounbalanced loads thereon or due to applying a pulling force at one sideonly of a shelf. Most extensible shelf supporting arrangements have beenlocated at the side of a shelf supported therefrom, and therefore theshelf itself has been prevented from occupyingthe entire areaintermediate upright side Walls of a food storage compartment of arefrigerator cabinet thus wasting valuable space.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved shelf arrangementfor the interior of a refrigerator cabinet Which can be easily moved orextended outwardly of a compartment inthe cabinet irrespective of thepoint of application of a horizontal pulling force thereto.

Another object of my invention is to provide rollable extensibleelements for supporting a shelf therefrom, which elements are locatedbelow the shelf to thereby permit the shelf to occupy substantially theentire horizontal cross-sectional ateaof a food storage compartment.

A further object of my invention is to mount a plurality of extensibleshelf supporting elements in horizontal side-by-side relation on uprightside walls of a compartment and to carry a shelf upon one of theextensible elements nearest the compartment side walls above thesupporting elements whereby the shelf may extend I substantially fromone upright sidewall to the other of the compartment to avoid wasting aportion of the horizontal area of the compartment between its sideWalls.

A still further andmore specific object of my invention is to mountpairs of shelf, supporting elements extensible longitudinally relativeto one another in side-byside relation upon opposed upright side wallsof a compartment and to provide rollermembers forming the sole meansofconnecting each element of the pairs thereof together and of preventingsidewise movement of the elements relative to one another.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings wherein a preferred form of the invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front view of a household refrigerator cabinet having myinvention embodied in the food storage compartment thereof and showingthe compartment door in open position;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View taken on :the line 2-2of Figure 1 showing extensible shelf supporting elements in differentextended positions relative to one another;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken on the line3-3 of Figure 1 with a portion of a shelf broken away along one sideedge thereof and lookpartment.

tained such full extension ice ing down on one pair of the shelfsupporting elements;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary enlarged view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure2 showing one pair of shelf supporting elements partly in section andpartly in elevation;

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 4with the shelf removed from a supporting element; and

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5showing a roller member secured to the mounting means of the shelfsupporting elements.

Referring to the drawings, for illustrating my invention, I have shownin Figure 1 thereof a household type refrigerator cabinet of rectilinearconfiguration and comprising an outer shell or panels 11 and an innermetal liner 12 having suitable insulating material 14 disposedtherebetween (see Figures 2 and 3). Liner 12 forms walls of a foodstorage compartment 15 within the refrigerator cabinet. Compartment 15may be cooled by an evaporator 17 located in the upper portion thereof.Evaporator 17 forms a part of a closed refrigerating system and hasconduit connections with a refrigerant translating device of anysuitable or conventional design such as a motor-compressor condenserunit (not shown) ordinarily mounted in a machine compartment below thefood storage compartment 15. Suitable controls for the refrigeranttranslating device and for admitting refrigerant to evaporator l7 may beprovided to maintain a predetermined temperature within the food storagecompartment 15. A door 18 (shown in open position in Figure I) normallycloses an opening in the front of the refrigerator cabinet affordingaccess to compartment 15. Compartment 15 is provided with a plurality ofvertically spaced apart shelves 19 detachably supported upon one of aplurality of sets of shelf supporting units, generally represented bythe reference character 29 in Figure 1, and secured to opposed uprightside walls of the com- The shelves 19 are formed of aluminum or othersiutable material and are reticulated to permit air, cooled by theevaporator 17, to circulate therethrough and about the compartment overfoods stored therein. Each shelf 19 is of rectangular configuration (seeFigure 3) and has a flat article supporting surface provided with aplurality of elongated slots 22. Each shelf 19 is provided with a raisedrear Wall 23 and raised side walls 24 which are rolled over to provide ahollow rim about the three sides thereof for a purpose to be hereinafterdescribed. A downwardly turned or inclined lip 26 is provided at thefront of each shelf 19.

The shelf supporting units 20 are shown in Figure 2 of the drawings,with the shelves 19 removed there from for the sake of clearness, indifferent positions relative to one another. The purpose of these units20 is to permit each shelf 19 to be rolled or extended from a normalretracted position within compartment 15, as

shown by the upper units 20 in Figure 2, to any one of a plurality ofdesired positions outwardly of the refrigerator cabinet through theaccess opening of storage compartment 15. When a shelf 19 is rolled outof compartment 15 into a loading position, indicated by the lower units29 in Figure 2, it extends forwardly of compartment 15 a distancesubstantially equal to the fore-and-aft width of the shelf. This fullextension of shelf 19 is accomplished with the use of only twoextensible elements at the sides of the compartment, Whereas to myknowledge others in the past have atby the utilization of more than twoextensible elements.

Each opposed unit 20 of the plurality of vertically spaced unitscomprises a mounting means including an angle iron 31 which extends asubstantial distance horizontally along the upright side walls 12 ofcompartment 15 (see Figures 2, 3 and 5). The vertical leg of angle' iron31 is" secured to liner 1'2, with a rubber or the like washer 32therebetween, by screws 33 which are threaded into suitably tappedopenings provided in a reinforcing channel iron 34. Channel iron 34abuts the outer surface of liner 12 and is disposed in the insulatedchamber between liner 12 and the cabinet outer walls 11 A relativelyshort angle iron 36 has its horizontal leg secured to the horizontal legof angle iron 31 by screws 37 (see Figures 2 and The upright leg ofangle iron 36 has roller members secured thereto. These rollermembersinclude two spaced pairs of rollers 38' which are mounted onstuds 39 riveted or otherwise suitably secured to angle iron 36 (see Figure 6). A substantially C-shape'd, in cross-section,. metal track orextensible supporting element 41 is slid over the two pairs of rollers38 so that it substantially embraces the rollers and prevents sidewisemovement thereof relative to these rollers. The track or ex tensi'blesupport 41 is secured to an L-shaped, in crosssection, iron 42 by a pairof studs 43 each having a roller 44 mounted thereon. A rivet 46 (seeFigures 2 and 4) near the rear end of support 41 also passes throughiron 42' to aid in securing these elements to one" another. A secondsubstantially C-shaped, in crosssection', metal track or extensiblesupport 47 is slid over the two rollers 44' so that it substantiallyembraces these rollers and prevents sidewise movement thereof relativethereto; The support 47 has a member 48 secured thereto, by rivets 49(see Figure 5 and projecting upwardly' therefrom in closely spacedrelation to the upright side" wall' 12 of compartment 15. Member 48 issubstantially coextensive with support 47 and has its rear end bentlaterally inward away from the compartment walls 12 as at 51 (seeFigures 2, 4 and 5)'. Thismember 48 forms a shelf receiving projectionon the track or support 47. The bent-over top rim along the sides andback of shelf 19 fits over member 48 and its inturn'ed end 51 to therebytie the extensible support 47 of each horizontally aligned and opposedunit together' for simultaneous movement when a horizontal force isapplied to shelf 19.

Each of the extensible supports 41 and 47 has a cap member 53 tightlypressed over its front end toimprove the appearance of these supportsfrominfront of the food compartment 15. Each of the extensible supportsalso has a pin 54 secured to its rear end and a pin 55 secured to itsfront end for a purpose to be hereinafter described. A relatively short.block or pad 56 (see Figure 5) is located at the front of the securedtogether angle irons 31 and 36, forming themountingmeans for the twoshelf supporting extensible elements 41. and 47. Block or pad' 56 is cutout to fit over a raised portion of angle iron 36' aboutthe tapped holetherein which receives screw 37. In all. positions of the extensibleshelf supports 41' and 47, the lower foot part of L-shaped iron.

42 bears against block or pad 56' to retain the same in the positionshown without the aid of additional means. The iron 4'2 slideson blockor pad. 56 during movernent of the extensible supports 41 and 47. It iswell known that objects constructed of polyamide materialv or polymericamides having a protein-like chemical structuremay be moved along orrolled upon metal surfaces or metal surfaces may be slid or rolled alongobjects so constructed. with much less friction than moving metalmembers. upon or along. one another. For thisreason I prefer to form.the rollers 38 and 44 and the skid: block. or pad 56 of such polyarnidematerial. lfodesiredg soft. rubber" bumper buttons or the like 58 may bemounted on the back edge of the shelves 1 9 (seeFigure 3") so as" tostrike therear wall of compartment.1 5 -substantially at the same timestop pins 55 engage the front rollers 38 and 44- to relieve the shockonpins when theshelves 19 are moved into" their fully retractedposition.

For the purpose of illustrating and describing the various positions ofthe shelf, it should be assumed that a shelf 19 is cradled or mounted onthe shelf receiving projections 48 and 51 carried by opposed track orextensible supports 47 of units 20 in the arrangement disclosed inFigure 2 of the drawings. In such case the shelf 19 ties the extensiblesupports 47 which are adjacent opposed upright walls 12 of compartment15 together for simultaneous movement. It will. be noted that theuppermost opposed units 20 support the shelf in a retracted or normalposition in the food storage compartment 15 of the refrigerator cabinet.The shelf 19 and its supports 47 on the next lower set of opposed units20 are in a position partly extended from the compartment 15 and priorto picking up or causing movement of the tracks or supports 41 and therollers 44 secured thereto. In this position of shelf 19 the stop pin 46at the rear of track. or support 47 has been moved forwardly intoengagement with the rear roller 44'. Further forward movement of shelfI9 and its support 47 from the position just described into the positionindicated by the bottom opposed units 20 in Figure 2 causes pin 46 atthe rear of support 47' to engage the rear roller 44 on the innermostsupports '41; Pin 46 will move or pull the supports 41, and consequentlyboth rollers 44'thereon, outwardly until the stop pin 54' on. the backend of support 41 engages the rear roller 38', of the back pair ofroller means, on angle iron 36 of the shelf supporting mounting means.

In this position shelf 19' is moved or extended substantially entirelyout of compartment 15 through its access opening. In. this fullyextended position of shelf 19,v the extensible shelf supporting track47. has twospaced points bearingv upon the extensible support 41 whichare the rollers 44 to thereby prevent tilting of the shelf. Track orsupport 41 also has a plurality of bearing. points upon the angle iron36' of the mounting means which are the two pairs of rollers 38 tothereby prevent. its tilting relative .to the mounting means 31 and. 36.When the shelf 19 is returned to its normal position within compartment15 as indicated by the po-.

sition of the uppermost of the units 20 in FigureZ, the stop. pins 54 atthe front end of each extensible support 41 and 47 engage theforwardmost of the rollers.

38 and 44. By forming all. of the rollers: 38 and 44 as well as the skidblock or pad 56 of the materialherein specified, there is very littlefriction between. the various elements of the present shelf extensiblearrangement, and the shelf is therefore movable or extendible with aminimum of force applied thereto.-

It should be apparent from the foregoing that L have provided animproved rollable or shiftable storage shelf for arefrigeratorcompartment of a refrigerator cabinetwhich provides ready access toremote portions ofthe: compartment or shelves therein. By removablycradling.

or nesting a shelf in the present arrangement on the;

extensible supports nearest to the compartment uprightside walls andabove the supports, the shelf may extend substantially from one uprightside wall tothe other of the compartment to thereby avoid wasting a partof the horizontal area intermediate the cabinet walls. By forming thetrack supports ofthe specific configuration in cross-section asspecified, they embrace the'rollers in such a manner that these rollersform the solemeans of connecting the movable track supports to oneanother and also prevent excessive sidewise' movement of elements oneach unit with respect to oneanother. This, together with the forming'ofthe skid block and rollers from the material. herein specified, providesatree: roll ing extensible shelf supporting arrangement".

While the form of embodiment of the inventionflas' herein disclosedconstitutes a-preferred form; it is to be understoodtthat other formsmight be adopted as may come' within" the scope of the claim whichfollows.

What is claimed is as follows:

A refrigerator comprising in combination, a cabinet having a pluralityof walls defining a food storage compartment therein, a shelf supportingunit carried by each opposed upright side Wall of said compartment inspaced relation to the bottom wall thereof, each of said units includinga mounting means secured to the compartment side wall and a set ofextensible supports carried thereon, said extensible supports beingdisposed in side by side relationship, means interlocking said supportsto one another and preventing detachment thereof from said mountingmeans, the one extensible support of each unit adjacent a side Wall ofsaid compartment having a shelf receiving projection extending upwardlytherefrom in closely spaced relation to said side wall, the rear end ofsaid upwardly extending projection on said one extensible support ofeach unit being directed laterally inward away from the compartment sidewall adjacent thereto, a shelf separate from said extensible supportsremovably mounted upon said one support of: each unit, said shelf havingupwardly directed and rolled over side and back edges fitted over saidprojections and providing the sole means of tying said one extensiblesupport of each unit together, said shelf also having a reticulated foodreceiving area extending across said compartment from a point closelyadjacent one of its upright side walls to a point closely adjacent itsother upright side wall above and in overlapping relation to said sideby side sets of extensible supports, said one support of the set thereofon each unit being movable, upon applying a horizontal force to saidshelf, relative to said mounting means and to the other support of thesets thereof to position the shelf a predetermined distance outwardly ofsaid compartment, the other support of the interlocked set thereof oneach unit being movable relative to said mounting means, upon applyingan additional horizontal force to said shelf, to position the shelf afurther distance outwardly of said compartment beyond said predetermineddistance of outward movement thereof, and said shelf being at all timesdetachable from said projections on said one support Without releasingsaid interlock between the sets of extensible supports of saidsupporting units.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS771,877 Kuebler Oct. 11, 1904 972,755 De Canio Oct. 11, 1910 1,095,363Weiss May 5, 1914 2,065,391 Nance Dec. 22, 1936 2,486,564 Kamin Nov. 1,1949 2,556,612 Buntin June 12, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 173,383 GreatBritain Jan. 5, 1922

